Bloglander

TRAILER THURSDAY: Booze Weed and Teenage Assassins edition

ARTHUR
Thirty years ago, Dudley Moore’s Arthur was a genial drunk. (Is alcoholism even funny anymore?) And as his valet, John Gielgud nudged filthy-rich Arthur toward the good. (In this remake, Helen Mirren plays a more censorious nanny to the 35-year-old Russell Brand.) Moore charmed people; he was, at heart, a lonely soul. Brand, always creating a spectacle of himself, asks for your ridicule instead of your sympathy. Will we really care whether this new Arthur marries Jennifer Garner out of duty or Greta Gerwig out of love? (MB) Rated R | SHOWTIMES

[thumb up] HANNA
A teenage girl lives in remotest Finland with her dad, who taught her how to fight with fists and arrows and guns. But now the CIA, led by Cate Blanchett, is pursuing both Hanna and her dad, kick-starting this action-packed, tightly written, magnificently directed tale of family, spies, friendship, survival, and people constantly on the run. Director Joe Wright (Atonement, The Soloist) gives us an out-and-out thriller, filled with blazing guns, flinch-inducing stunts, crazy camera work, and a pounding, percussive soundtrack. (ES) Rated PG-13 | SHOWTIMES

SOUL SURFER
Imagine doing the thing you love. Say it involves balance, agility, athletic skill. Now imagine doing it without your left arm. Bethany Hamilton did all that — she’d been a real-life champion surfer until a tiger shark chewed off her arm. In a watery, ultimate version of back-in-the-saddle determination, Hamilton started training to ride the waves again. With AnnaSophia Robb (Because of Winn-Dixie, Bridge to Terabithia) and Helen Hunt and Dennis Quaid as the supportive parents. (MB) Rated PG | SHOWTIMES

[turkey] YOUR HIGHNESS
If you think dwarves are by nature hilarious, “The Gay” is something to fear, “slut” is a fantastic compliment for a woman one finds attractive, kicks to the crotch are awesome and bodacious boobs are even more awesome, then Your Highness is the flick for you. There is no point to this unforgivable excuse for a comedy, except for Danny McBride to make his buddies, including co-star James Franco, chortle over pot jokes. Your Highness indulges the fantasy that beautiful, self-assertive women like Natalie Portman will fall in love with schlubs like McBride. (MJ) Rated R | SHOWTIMES